Manado

Introduction

Selamat Pagi

Manado is the main administrative centre for northern Sulawesi and the heart of the Minahasa (meaning 'united, becomes one', a name given to the collective of independent states originally in the area) people. The town looks out over the beautiful Manado Bay across to Pulau Bunaken (a collection of tropical islands) where superb diving and snorkelling can be found, the main reason for western tourism. The port itself has traditionally been a centre for traders throughout the ages and the region.

Events and Festivals

Manado Beach Festival

Manado is a popular tourist destination on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. During the month of July, the city hosts a popular event called the Manado Beach Festival, which celebrates the town’s anniversary. For one week, Manado comes alive with performances, dances, music, cultural events and sports competitions.

Weather

Manado has a tropical climate with hot and humid conditions. Temperatures usually range from 23-24 °C at night to 28-32 °C during the day. The wet season is from October to April while May to September is drier, but still sees occasional rainshowers.

Getting Around

By Public Transport

Eat

As a result of the rich surrounding volcanic soils the Minahasan's enjoy an abundant variety of foods, from an amazing array of vegetables, seafood's to the more 'exotic' such as rat, possum, dog and bats.

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet is becoming more widely used in Indonesia, and warung Internet (warnet) - Internet cafés - are emerging everywhere. A lot of restaurants and cafés in big cities normally have wireless internet available for free. Internet connection speed in Indonesia varies between ISP and location. Prices vary considerably, and as usual you tend to get what you pay for, but you'll usually be looking at around Rp3,000 to Rp5,000 per hour with faster access than from your own mobile phone. In large cities, there are free WiFi hotspots in many shopping malls, McDonald restaurants, Starbucks cafes, 7 Eleven convenience stores, and in some restaurants and bars. Some hotels provide free hotspots in the lobby and/or in their restaurants and even in your rooms.

Phone

You can use 112 as an emergency number through mobile phones. Other numbers include 110 (police), 113 (fire) and 118 (ambulance). The international phone code is 62.

If you have GSM cellular phone, ask your local provider about "roaming agreement/facility" with local GSM operators in Indonesia (i.e.: PT Indosat, PT Telkomsel, PT XL Axiata). The cheapest way is buying a local SIM card, which would be much cheaper to call and especially use internet compared to your own cell phone's sim card.

The Indonesian mobile phone market is heavily competitive and prices are low: you can pick up a prepaid SIM card for less than Rp 10,000 and calls may cost as little as Rp 300 a minute to some other countries using certain carriers (subject to the usual host of restrictions). SMS (text message) service is generally very cheap, with local SMS as low as Rp129-165, and international SMS for Rp400-600. Indonesia is also the world's largest market for used phones, and basic models start from Rp 150,000, with used ones being even cheaper.

Post

Pos Indonesia provides the postal service in Indonesia. Pos Indonesia is government-owned and offers services ranging from sending letters and packages to money transfers (usually to remote areas which have no bank branch/ATM nearby) and selling postcards and stamps. Sending a postcards, letter or parcel is relatively expensive, but fairly reliable. It takes several days at least to send it within Indonesia, at least a week internationally. It is recommended to send letters from a Pos Indonesia branch, not by putting it inside orange mailbox (called Bis Surat) in the roadside, because some of the mailboxes are in very bad condition and aren't checked regularly by Pos Indonesia. Opening times of post offices usually tend to follow general business hours: Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 4:00pm (sometimes shorter hours on Fridays), Saturdays from 8:00am to 1:00pm, closed on Sundays. Bigger cities, tourist areas and central post offices tend to keep longer hours, into the evenings.